# New Air CC-100 Cigar wineador/cooler



## prophoto25 (Sep 23, 2015)

Hey all,

I just purchased a New Air CC-100 wineador/cigar cooler whatever they want to call it, but basically a wine cooler with Spanish cedar shelves and 1 drawer, capable of holding about 250 cigars.

I basically picked it up to try and control my temp, as the house stays at 72 at night, and 75 during the day, but in FL, 75 in the house usually is a bit higher with humidity, and I have a large house, and don't want to keep the house at 72 constantly. Just an experiment to see if it really is what its all cracked up to be, and possibly buy a bigger one if this one works as expected.
Got it last night, cleaned it out, aired it out and have everything wiped down with Distilled Water, and now waiting for things to stabilize...

I only have a bowl of water in the device at the moment to allow the shelves to absorb as much water as they need, and was wondering:

1. *What is the best source of humidity for this cooler*? I've looked at Cigar Oasis, Heartfelt beads, CH beads, regular oasis foam, kitty litter and was wondering what most of you have found to be the most stable media for keeping things at 65-70% rh?

2. *Are Fans Necessary to keep humidity even throughout the device*? I've seen a few people who swear by them, and a few people who say its only a percentage or two at worst difference from top to bottom and fans aren't needed.....

3. *Where can I find a good selection of humidification beads at a decent price?* Don't want to have to spend a ton of cash buying a pound of each to figure out which will work the best for me and my setup?( esp heartfelt at $33.00 per LB)

WHAT SAY YOU OH MIGHTY PUFFERS?!


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## Negatron (Jul 3, 2015)

Im barely eligible to answer any of these questions with a degree of experience or expertise, but #3 I believe most buy pure silica-bead kitty litter, but unlike heartfelt beads the KL only absorbs humidity vs regulating it.


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## elco69 (May 1, 2013)

prophoto25 said:


> Hey all,
> 
> I just purchased a New Air CC-100 wineador/cigar cooler whatever they want to call it, but basically a wine cooler with Spanish cedar shelves and 1 drawer, capable of holding about 250 cigars.
> 
> ...


1. I use HF Beads from Heartfelt Industries, I have another pound of 65% on its way for my second Whynter CHC-251s. If you search @Cigary has a good write up on how to use KL (Kitty Litter)
2. Fans are not needed for that small of a unit
3. HF beads can only be bought at HF. 1lb is too much for your particular setup, although more does not hurt. For me, $30 to help protect my cigars is nothing.


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## quazy50 (Aug 6, 2007)

+1 for what Henry @elco69 said. Can't go wrong with HF beads IMO. I also have a Whynter CHC-251s (Thanks Henry!) and use 1lb even though I only need a half. Having more beads would help the unit bounce back in flux of RH. You would probably be fine with a half pound. Heart Felt has a calculator on their website to help determine how many beads you need.


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## prophoto25 (Sep 23, 2015)

elco69 said:


> 1. I use HF Beads from Heartfelt Industries, I have another pound of 65% on its way for my second Whynter CHC-251s. If you search @Cigary has a good write up on how to use KL (Kitty Litter)
> 2. Fans are not needed for that small of a unit
> 3. HF beads can only be bought at HF. 1lb is too much for your particular setup, although more does not hurt. For me, $30 to help protect my cigars is nothing.


Now, I'm not saying that I WONT spend money on whatever humidification media I choose to use, I'm just not looking to throw money at a few different ones, and then choose one, and basically throw away the cash that could have been spent on interesting new sticks at the local shop. 
I have probably 10 humidors ranging from 50 count desktops to 300 count freestanding units for aging...I'm not terribly worried about buying too much, just looking for a reliable and effective way to humidify my sticks.


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## mikebot (Sep 17, 2015)

+1 vote for HF beads. You can use them in your wineador, and can also covert many stock gel or foam containers for any desktop humidor.


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## elco69 (May 1, 2013)

prophoto25 said:


> Now, I'm not saying that I WONT spend money on whatever humidification media I choose to use, I'm just not looking to throw money at a few different ones, and then choose one, and basically throw away the cash that could have been spent on interesting new sticks at the local shop.
> I have probably 10 humidors ranging from 50 count desktops to 300 count freestanding units for aging...I'm not terribly worried about buying too much, just looking for a reliable and effective way to humidify my sticks.


HF is a solid way to go. I have done the Boveda, which I use in my travel storage or small tupperdors. Gel jars and floral foam which are garbage. I ended up on HF Beads and haven't regretted it one bit. So to date, I have over 3lbs between, 2 Whynter CHC-251S, 120qt cooler, 60ct. desktop and have even bombed some to another member and made her a convert, at least I think I made her convert.


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## Busco (Sep 22, 2015)

prophoto25 said:


> Hey all,
> 
> I just purchased a New Air CC-100 wineador/cigar cooler whatever they want to call it, but basically a wine cooler with Spanish cedar shelves and 1 drawer, capable of holding about 250 cigars.
> 
> ...


I have a Whynter CHC251s that has been set up for over a year. I used to use 70% beads but wanted to drop to 65% so I decided to give litter a shot since it was available locally and cheap as hell. Bought a bag of Mimi silica litter from Wally World and never looked back. $4 a bag and it will be enough to to last me forever. RH stays between 65-67 no matter how much I open the door. So to answer your questions in order;
1. Mimi silica litter.
2. No fan should be necessary. Mine has a fan in the back of the unit to circulate air. I recommend placing a drawer in front of the fan to make the air move to the top and bottom instead of straight out. This made a difference in the fluctuations of humidity between the top and bottom of the unit. 
3. Walmart/Amazon.


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## mikebot (Sep 17, 2015)

Busco said:


> I have a Whynter CHC251s that has been set up for over a year. I used to use 70% beads but wanted to drop to 65% so I decided to give litter a shot since it was available locally and cheap as hell. Bought a bag of Mimi silica litter from Wally World and never looked back. $4 a bag and it will be enough to to last me forever. RH stays between 65-67 no matter how much I open the door. So to answer your questions in order;
> 1. Mimi silica litter.
> 2. No fan should be necessary. Mine has a fan in the back of the unit to circulate air. I recommend placing a drawer in front of the fan to make the air move to the top and bottom instead of straight out. This made a difference in the fluctuations of humidity between the top and bottom of the unit.
> 3. Walmart/Amazon.


I am in the same situation right now, using 70% beads but want to downgrade to 65%. What did you do with your investment in 70% beads? Beads and litter or just litter? How did you distribute the litter throughout your wineador?


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## Busco (Sep 22, 2015)

mikebot said:


> I am in the same situation right now, using 70% beads but want to downgrade to 65%. What did you do with your investment in 70% beads? Beads and litter or just litter? How did you distribute the litter throughout your wineador?


I saved them for a while, but I'm never going back so I offered them up and gave them away. All litter. I use small Pyrex dishes and put a bit on each shelf/drawer. About 3/4 lb total.


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## elco69 (May 1, 2013)

mikebot said:


> I am in the same situation right now, using 70% beads but want to downgrade to 65%. What did you do with your investment in 70% beads? Beads and litter or just litter? How did you distribute the litter throughout your wineador?


I would keep the 70% around. If you ever decide to get into long term storage, say 3+ years. 70% works well, when you are ready to smoke them, move to your 65% storage for a couple of weeks and you are good to go. 70% is good for resting, but 65% is better for smoking. With that being said, I don't have anything at 70% because I never purchased any 70% beads.


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## mikebot (Sep 17, 2015)

elco69 said:


> I would keep the 70% around. If you ever decide to get into long term storage, say 3+ years. 70% works well, when you are ready to smoke them, move to your 65% storage for a couple of weeks and you are good to go. 70% is good for resting, but 65% is better for smoking. With that being said, I don't have anything at 70% because I never purchased any 70% beads.


Good strategy. I think I will keep my wineador at 70%, but place some 65% inside my desktop humidor (the entire humidor is inside the wineador for temp regulation). I am a slow smoker at the moment (approx 4 sticks/month unless I'm on the links) so I can keep my upcoming smokes in the desktop, and the rest in the wineador itself.


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## prophoto25 (Sep 23, 2015)

Well folks, here's an update on my cc-100.
Temp is rock solid,which is what I was looking for in the heat of Florida summers. The humidity holds solid at 65-66%, even without the drain hole plugged in the back. I got a bag of exquisi cat from a pet shop and wow! Super stable humidity who would have thought!? Lol. 
I've also been toying with the idea of returning this one and getting the 281e by new air for some extra room. While I don't have a ton of sticks in there now, a "one stick here and two sticks there" pickup method tends to exponentially increase the number of cigars in the humi pretty darn quickly. 
Any thoughts on going bigger?


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## mikebot (Sep 17, 2015)

prophoto25 said:


> Well folks, here's an update on my cc-100.
> Temp is rock solid,which is what I was looking for in the heat of Florida summers. The humidity holds solid at 65-66%, even without the drain hole plugged in the back. I got a bag of exquisi cat from a pet shop and wow! Super stable humidity who would have thought!? Lol.
> I've also been toying with the idea of returning this one and getting the 281e by new air for some extra room. While I don't have a ton of sticks in there now, a "one stick here and two sticks there" pickup method tends to exponentially increase the number of cigars in the humi pretty darn quickly.
> Any thoughts on going bigger?
> ...


Go big or go home! Get a 281E when the price drops again (camelcamelcamel.com) and keep it at 70%. Keep the CC-100 at 65% for your ready to smoke stash. Or sell it. Or don't listen to me. I'm not the voice of reason by any means!


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## prophoto25 (Sep 23, 2015)

mikebot said:


> Go big or go home! Get a 281E when the price drops again and keep it at 70%. Keep the CC-100 at 65% for your ready to smoke stash. Or sell it. Or don't listen to me. I'm not the voice of reason by any means!


Like how far does it drop? Amazon has the non stainless steel for 212 and the stainless for 259 give or take a few

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## mikebot (Sep 17, 2015)

Here's what I got from best buy online with coupon code. NewAir AW-281E. Check out my build thread for full details.

*Price: *$196.55 ($181.99 plus tax, free shipping, August 2015)

http://www.cigarforums.net/forums/vb/showthread.php?t=350578


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## mikebot (Sep 17, 2015)

Keep in mind you'll have to go through the ~2 month waiting process if you upgrade and order shelves from Forrest.


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## prophoto25 (Sep 23, 2015)

mikebot said:


> Keep in mind you'll have to go through the ~2 month waiting process if you upgrade and order shelves from Forrest.


Yeah, that is to be expected....in the mean time, I hear this dirty rumor that the cooler can be used without pretty looking shelves for the time being...heheheh. I'm sure I can scrounge up some Spanish cedar planks to make shelves in the interim. Or I can just stack my boxes and bundles in the cooler without shelves as I've seen a few around here do.

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## zCityGuy (May 10, 2016)

Re-engaging this thread. Just ordered my CC-100 which just arrived. I'm curious about the plug hole in the back. What are the pros/cons of plugging it or leaving it unplugged?


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## Drummerguy1584 (Mar 24, 2016)

zCityGuy said:


> Re-engaging this thread. Just ordered my CC-100 which just arrived. I'm curious about the plug hole in the back. What are the pros/cons of plugging it or leaving it unplugged?


Plug it! Your RH will suffer if you don't!

Use food safe silicon (found at Home Depot or the likes). Maybe run a PC case fan up through it first to circulate humidity 

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## zCityGuy (May 10, 2016)

Drummerguy1584 said:


> Use food safe silicon (found at Home Depot or the likes).


What exactly should I be looking for


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## Drummerguy1584 (Mar 24, 2016)

I used clear silicon in a small tube, don't have a pic of it since I'm at work, but the guys at Home Depot should be able to direct you to the right stuff. Clear silicon gel/caulk


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## zCityGuy (May 10, 2016)

Perfect, thank you guys. Why the hell is there a hole in the back of the thing anyway if we're all plugging them??


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## Drummerguy1584 (Mar 24, 2016)

For when people actually use them for wine. Personally I'd love to have one for NCs one for CCs (even though I don't have any right now) and one for wine 

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## zCityGuy (May 10, 2016)

I'll get some silicone tonight. Psyched to get this bad boy cleaned, calibrated and loaded!


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## zCityGuy (May 10, 2016)

Drummer, how long did yours take to season?


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## Drummerguy1584 (Mar 24, 2016)

Oh mercy, I did it with some distilled water in a cup and used some cigar boxes from a B&M that I broke down and used food safe wood glue to put together and make some crappy shelves...so the boxes were seasoned already more or less. My shelves are precarious at best. I don't have nice shelves like a lot of they guys around here. I think it might be best to ask those who have shelves like yours. Plenty of threads here on seasoning methods as well. 


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## zCityGuy (May 10, 2016)

She's here!


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## zCityGuy (May 10, 2016)




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## zCityGuy (May 10, 2016)

Hey guys, so I've had this thing working for about 3 weeks now and its great. The one thing I'm running into is that my RH is about 63% at the top drawer and 69% at the bottom. I've got 1/2lb of HF beads sitting on the bottom of it and have been wondering if I should get a fan. I figured I wouldn't need one for a unit this small.

I'm curious if placing the beads on the top would help.

If not, what type of fan do you guys recommend getting?


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